You’ll never guess what happened the other day…

The LinkedIn group ‘Intelligent Projects’ has recently taken off with some interesting discussions surrounding what makes one project successful, and others not.

We’ve been asking: what is the right mix of skills (hard and soft)? What clever thinking needs to be part of the process? How critical is attitude? Is it about project leadership and sponsorship? Is it about culture? Do certain personality types make good effective, successful project managers?

One contributor responded with the view that a lack of clarity between project managing, architect and analyst roles can lead to confusion within the project, sub-optimal design, and communications through non-ideal channels. She suggested that some project managers aim to solve all the issues when analysts or architects may be better positioned to deal with the business on specific challenges. She concluded: ‘I think greater understanding of team skills and strengths and trust in what each brings to the party is the Number 1 criteria for success.’

Another contributor discussed how the project manager role had shrunk somewhat in recent times. He suggested that in the past, the project manager had to: ‘understand the problem, design the solution and then implement it.’ He perceives that nowadays it is more about: 'how will we get it done by the date we have been handed', since the solution is largely predetermined. Thus, the project manager has to focus on delivery, and the balance between costs, time, and resources under his or her control.